The film presents a biopunk vision of a
society driven by liberal eugenics.
Children of the middle and upper classes are selected through
preimplantation
genetic diagnosis to ensure they possess the best hereditary
traits of their parents. A genetic registry database uses biometrics to instantly identify and classify
those so created as valids while those conceived by
traditional means are derisively known as in-valids. While
genetic discrimination is
forbidden by law, in practice it is easy to profile one's genotype resulting in the Valids qualifying for
professional employment while the In-Valids who are susceptible to
disease are relegated to menial jobs. The movie draws on concerns
over reproductive
technologies which facilitate eugenics, and the possible
consequences of such technological developments for society. It
also explores the idea of destiny and the
ways in which it can and does govern lives. Characters in
Gattaca continually battle both with society and with
themselves to find their place in the world and who they are
destined to be according to their genes.

Plot

In “the not-too-distant future”, where liberal eugenics is common and DNA plays the primary role in determining social class, Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) is conceived and born without the
aid of this technology. As a result he is born with a high
probability of heart disorder and a life expectancy of only 30.2
years. His parents regret this, and his younger brother, Anton, is
conceived with the aid of genetic engineering. Growing up, their
father clearly favors Anton, the stronger, taller and more perfect
son. Vincent dreams of a career in space, but his parents remind
him that his imperfections will preclude from ever achieving this.
Vincent and Anton enjoy playing a game that they called "chicken" -
both would swim out into the sea, and the first person to tire out
and swim back to shore would be the loser. As children, Anton
always won due to his superior genes. However, one day when they
were older, Vincent, for reasons not entirely clear at the time,
overtook and beat his brother. Anton cried out to his older brother
for help as he was about to drown. Vincent saved him by pulling him
to the shore. Vincent then left his home shortly thereafter.

Suffering from the nearly eradicated physical dysfunction of
myopia, as well as being given a heart
disorder probability of 99%, Vincent faces extreme genetic discrimination and prejudice. The only way he can achieve his
life-long dream of becoming an astronaut
is to break the law and impersonate a
"valid", a person with appropriate genetic advantage.

He assumes the identity of Jerome Eugene Morrow (Jude Law), a former swimming star who, despite a
genetic profile "second to none", won only a silver medal in a high-profile competition. He
then attempted to commit suicide by jumping
in front of a car, but again fell short of his goal in that he only
succeeded in paralyzing himself from the
waist down. However, as the incident occurred outside the
country, no one knows of his newly acquired disability. Thus,
Vincent can "buy" his identity with no one the wiser. Though he
requires limb lengthening
to increase his height, persistent practice to favor his right hand
instead of his left, and contact lenses to replace his glasses
while matching Jerome's eyes, he can use Jerome's "valid" DNA in
blood, hair, tissue and urine samples to pass any genetic test — as
long as he takes extreme measures to leave no traces of his
identity as an "in-valid". But, where he was once an object of
scorn and pity, he is now a perpetrator of an unspeakable fraud.
Legally, exposure would only subject him to fines, but socially the
consequences would be far more extreme — he is now a heretic
against the new order of genetic
determinism. Vincent is now a "borrowed ladder" (a play on
words referring to both the structure of an un-coiled DNA strand
and the idiom of altitude as social status) or in harsher language,
a de-gene-erate.

With Jerome's impressive genetic profile he easily gains access to
the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation (his interview consists entirely
of a genetic analysis of a urine sample), the most prestigious
space-flight conglomerate of the day. With his own equally
impressive determination, he quickly becomes the company's ace
celestial navigator. But a week before Vincent is scheduled to
leave on a one-year mission for Saturn's moon
Titan, the mission director is
murdered, and evidence of Vincent's own "in-valid" DNA is found in
the building in the form of an eyelash. The
presence of this unexpected DNA attracts the attention of the
police, and Vincent must evade ever-increasing security as his
mission launch date approaches and he pursues a relationship with
his co-worker Irene Cassini (Uma
Thurman).

After numerous close calls, the investigation eventually comes to a
close as Director Josef (Gore Vidal) is
arrested for the murder by the detective covering the investigation
(Alan Arkin). The Director reveals that
he murdered the mission director in order to buy time for the
mission to launch, because the window of opportunity for the launch
is only open for seven days once every seventy years, and that it
is now too late to stop the launch. However, just as Vincent
appears to be in the clear, he is confronted by the chief
detective, who is revealed to be Vincent's estranged brother, Anton
(Loren Dean). Anton tries to convince
Vincent to go with him for protection before Vincent is found out.
However, it soon becomes apparent that Anton is acting more out of
insecurity and is more concerned with how Vincent had managed to
get the better of him, despite Anton's supposed genetic
superiority. Vincent and Anton settle their competition as they did
when they were children, by seeing who could swim out into the
ocean farthest. As he did once before when they were young, Vincent
manages to beat Anton who, once again, is rescued by his older
brother. When Anton asks him how he can possibly be doing this,
Vincent reveals that he refused to save any strength for the swim
back — he was willing to risk everything to succeed.
Conversely Anton was worried about preserving enough strength to
swim out and return again, and these fears kept him from testing
his true limits.

As the day of the launch finally arrives, Jerome bids Vincent
farewell and says that he intends to travel too. He reveals that he
has stored enough genetic samples to last Vincent two lifetimes.
Overwhelmed and grateful, Vincent thanks Jerome for "lending" him
the identity that has allowed his success at Gattaca. Jerome
replies, however, that it is he who should be grateful, since
Vincent lent Jerome his dreams. As Vincent moves through the
Gattaca complex to the launch site, he is stopped for an unexpected
urine test. Vincent reluctantly agrees to take the test, even
though he has not brought any of Jerome's genetic material to hide
his identity. The test result uncovers Vincent's "in-valid" status,
but the doctor, Lamar, reveals that he has known Vincent's true
identity all along, saying, "For future reference, right-handed men
don't hold it with their left. Just one of those things." Lamar
then alters the test result to allow Vincent to proceed regardless,
confessing that his son admires Vincent, and wants to be an
astronaut just like him, despite an unforeseen genetic defect that
would already rule him out.

As the shuttle lifts off, Jerome is shown committing suicide inside
his home incinerator, wearing his silver medal.

Critical reception

The film received a "fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes with 82% of the 55 critics
cited giving the film a favorable review. The average rating for
the film was 7.1/10. On Metacritic the
film received "generally favorable reviews" with a score of 67 out
of a possible 100. Roger Ebert stated,
"This is one of the smartest and most provocative of science
fiction films, a thriller with ideas." James Berardinelli praised it for "energy
and tautness" and its "thought-provoking script and thematic
richness."

Despite critical acclaim, Gattaca was not a box office success but it is said to have
crystallized the debate over tampering with human genetics. The film's dystopian depiction of "genoism" has been cited by many bioethicists and laymen in support of their
hesitancy about, or opposition to, liberal eugenics and the societal
acceptance of the genetic-determinist ideology that may
frame it. In a 1997 review of the film for the journal Nature
Genetics, molecular biologist Lee
M.Silver stated that
"Gattaca is a film that all geneticists should see if for no other reason
than to understand the perception of our trade held by so many of
the public-at-large".

However, in 2004, bioethicist James Hughes explicitly
criticized the premise and influence of the film Gattaca
by arguing that:

Astronaut-training programs are entirely justified in
attempting to screen out people with heart problems for safety
reasons;

In the United States, people are already discriminated against
by insurance companies on the basis of
their propensities to disease despite the fact that genetic
enhancement is not yet
available;

Rather than banning genetic
testing or genetic enhancement, society needs genetic informationprivacy laws that allow justified
forms of genetic testing and data aggregation, but forbid those
that are judged to result in genetic discrimination (such as the
U.S. Genetic
Information Nondiscrimination Act signed into law on May 21,
2008.). Citizens should then be able to make a complaint to the
appropriate authority if they believe they have been discriminated
against because of their genotype.

Soundtrack

The score for Gattaca was
composed by Michael Nyman, and the
original soundtrack was released on October 21, 1997.